About
The Elder Scrolls: Arena is a 1994 action role-playing game developed and published by Bethesda Softworks for MS-DOS, the first game in the Elder Scrolls series. OpenTESArena is a modern open-source engine written from scratch with a clean-room approach for The Elder Scrolls: Arena, aiming to replicate all aspects of the original. Combat, loot, items, shops, wandering citizens, fast travel and most of character creation work, but potions, quests, spells and saving/loading are not yet implemented; it is actively developed for Windows, Linux and macOS.
How it differs from the original
It adds quality-of-life changes, including a modern control mode with WASD movement and mouselook alongside a classic mode, and Vulkan rendering. No game assets are distributed.
Getting started
Download a release build and supply Arena's data files, from Steam, GOG or Bethesda's free download. Music is optional and needs a separate sound patch set; for the best experience, switch the graphics API to Vulkan in the options.
Known limitations
- gameplay: Potions, on-use items, quests, spells, and save/load functionality not yet implemented.
- gameplay: Plate item materials and character class generation questions not yet implemented.